“Explain to me again how a refrigerator is supposed to work?” a girl in a purple robe asked beside Lukas. She was petite and cute with tanned skin, a smaller figure, and a slick, furred tail. Her ears were mostly hidden in her hair, but they were furred as well. She was an otter Nergin.

Lukas chuckled, “Electricity. So, instead of being powered by a magic stone, you power it by… well… a chemical reaction or mechanical force. This power is usually generated in a power plant, a sort of factory for electricity. It’s then sort of shipped to houses through cables.” His form was short right now, but he could shapeshift into something humanoid, at least. He looked like a Latino boy with darker skin, or the sort of skin tone they called Fire-Opal here, but he had the same white freckling and blue anime-like hair as he did on Earth. Chrome scales dotted his sides, his cheek, the sides of his neck, and so on. He had a long draconic tail and wings too, though the underside of the wings looked like a mosaic of colors. He was eye-catching.

“How many cables would that require though?” the girl continued, never lacking for questions.

“Oh, there are many many cables. Some are underground and others are suspended above the ground in the sky. They try to have cables run together in a line, like a road.”

“But how does the cooling work? Isn’t electricity heat?”

Lukas nodded, understanding how it could be confusing. "Well, that's actually pretty neat. There're these metal tubes and coils on the back that absorb the heat from inside by moving a fluid…"

Lukas had explained this a few different times to different students. At a school like Msavii, their curiosity was intense. They knew few outsiders, and he was the first of the generation. In this case, they wanted to know everything he knew about electricity that came from non-magical means. He didn’t mind explaining over and over again. It was nice. The whole thing was pretty nice - he enjoyed the attention.

It had been a few months by now. Four? Time really moved. He hadn’t gotten to talk to his sister, but he got confirmation she was safe, at least. That she was here in this world. Eventually, they’d be reunited. He had to focus on getting stronger so he could protect her when the time came.

He had a number of classes. Of them, alchemy, enchanting, and history were the most interesting to him. There was a basic magic class as well, which was an odd combination to have with the other, higher-level courses. Most of his peers were mint green or purple cloaks, whereas he was a tan cloak, the bottom of the totem pole. The college was a wonderful place. It had sights he’d never get on Earth, a wealth of knowledge, great people, and a lot of freedom.

Lukas yawned into his hand as they passed into the classroom. He wasn’t much of a morning person, but he had to be here. There was too much he needed to catch up on. History. He was there early to get some notes done, but others kept following him. He had an entourage like some popular band, a thought that made him chuckle lightly. The teacher was that golem with a very long name… and he demanded the full thing be said every time! He bowed his head towards the human-looking man, “Rasdogir vas Gromin Wratu. Good morning, sir.”

“Lukas. Good morning to you as well. You’re three minutes later than you were last time.” He studied Lukas’ face with his dark, almost black-brown eyes. Not that it was necessarily easy to tell, with how dark brown his hair was, coming down to his shoulders in little wispy curls that flickered in the slow breeze from the window. Being a golem, he didn’t bother to get it out of his face; he saw not from his eyes, but his whole being. It made no difference to him. Not knowing his nature as a golem, no one would know he was any different from a normal fire-opal human. His skin was honey-toned, deep brown with a reddish glow. He was made to blend in and did so well… though nowadays that hardly mattered.

“I’m still early by two hours, to be fair.” The people that had been following Lukas dispersed with a glare from the teacher, and he internally sighed with relief. It’d be easier to focus without their presence.

“Early for others isn’t early for you, but yes. I’m merely noting the change.”

“I got a little wrapped up in a conversation with Kexi. Sorry, sir.” Kexi was an elf he had met that didn’t take no for an answer when it came to her questions. She always made what should have been a short conversation take three times as long.

“It’s fine. Come, sit. Today I’m giving you a lesson on the Orox Empire. They were the most influential of the mortal empires and shaped much of the world as it is today. What you’re speaking, the common tongue, was used first in that nation,” he explained, moving his black cloak behind him as he brought a text forward in one hand. Lukas sat down with a small inward sigh, and the teacher, or perhaps more accurately, in this case, he’d call him a tutor, began to explain, “As you’re aware, we count our years by the era, and at the start of a new era, the count restarts. As of the current era, the Adventure Era or AE, there have been the Mythas, Capthas, Waethas, Frathas, Laethas, Yuethas, Krithas, Animos, Traveller, Orox, Jushin, Corruption, Advancement, and Frost eras in known history. They are denoted as M, C, W, F, L, Y, K, A, T, O, J, CR, AD, FR, and AE, followed by the year of the era. It is currently 203AE, for instance. The Orox Era lasted from 1,207T, at the end of the Traveller Era, to 3,222O, when the Jushin Era began.”

Lukas was furiously writing notes. Rasdogir vas Gromin Wratu didn’t exactly stop for a breath, and he didn’t want to ask any more questions than necessary, so he had to jot down his thoughts swiftly.

“The Orox Empire denoted the start of the era of the same name. They were founded by Orcs and spread throughout most corners of the world. They were far more prolific then than what they are now, since now, Dwarves, Humans, and Nergin control the largest of nations. They were incredibly influential to mortal society as we know it - mortal being every race save for full-blooded dragons, fae, the divine, or nixis - as they developed magical technology and seafaring means beyond anyone’s wildest imagination of the time.”

“We have yet to see such an influential or forward-thinking empire come about again. The empire lasted for 2,503 years, an extremely long run for any nation before they dissolved into a spattering of nations and territories across the world. After developing the first guns, and utilizing magic that defied reality, one might think they would have persisted. Alas, time will wear down any nation.”

“Once they dissolved, they would not see reunification. The times that followed were rebellious throughout the Jushin Era, as the first Superdungeon was cleared, and people felt empowered and capable of doing anything. Then, through the 100-year-long Corruption Era, people were lucky to survive, let alone create strong nations. After the Orox Era ended, which was declared some 719 years after the actual dissolution of the true empire, the following eras tended to be much shorter, usually less than a thousand years.”

“All of this praise-worthiness did not come without a cost, however. The Orox Era was during the Human Domestication and Slavery Period, which didn’t see its end until the latter half of the Advancement Age, which was over 2000 years later. The effort to end the HDS Period began in earnest in the Jushin Era with the increased desire for freedom that it brought. Human Domestication and Slavery only ended around 300 years ago. This is why we see such an interesting array of coloration in humans today.”